Utes Starting to Make Revival Look a Long Way Off
Everybody seems to agree that the Utes have shown some positive signs this season. Winning at Cal. Playing Gonzaga close. Coming back to beat Air Force on the road.
No awful blowouts, for sure.
But just like last season, that's what is making the rest of the experience so frustrating.
While six losses by three points or less in the first half of the season helped steadily demoralize the Utes last season and counterbalance the impressive wins over Washington State and Virginia, so too have the current Utes suffered under the weight of a half-dozen close losses -- four in league play alone by six points or less, and two others in overtime -- to counterbalance their few modest achievements.
In fact, the Utes are at risk of finishing with the same conference record as last season, which would be incredibly damning in the final equation -- considering non-conference schedules mean little because they can vary so wildly (for all the talk about tough road games, the Utes' schedule strength ranks only 75th so far this season, according to realtimerpi.com, compared to 18th last season) and that teams are supposed to improve with good coaching, not regress.
And you can make a pretty good argument that the Utes are backsliding as the season chugs toward a conclusion, even without the depressing inevitability of a firing helping drag down the whole operation.
Of course, fatigue might have something to do with it.
The Utes have been shorthanded all season on account of the departures of Stephen Weigh, Daniel Deane and Curtis Eatmon, leaving them with an eight-man rotation comprised of many players who didn't seem to be in the most outstanding condition in the first place.
But still, the Utes still have achieved little this season that they did not manage last year -- the win at Air Force and home victory over UNLV being the two obvious exceptions. Yet the Utes made up for those by losing at home to Wyoming (for the first time since 2002) and New Mexico (for the first time since 1989), and still face the prospect of being swept by the Cowboys (they could sweep the Rebels) and managing the same split with lowly Colorado State as they did last year.
So what's the answer?
Seems like it might be a long way down the road, and include a lot of guys not named Luke Nevill, Shaun Green or Johnnie Bryant.
The Utes were supposed to be much improved after working for months improving their toughness and "grit" under coach Jim Boylen and getting so much playing experience as freshmen and sophomores, yet have shown painfully little capacity for success during the league games that truly count. And while Boylen will start importing some of his own hand-picked talent next season, all of his incoming recruits will be freshmen, meaning that it might be hard to count any on them to lead the renaissance of the program quite yet.
In other words, it's definitely a process, as Boylen likes to say, and probably a long one, at that.
No awful blowouts, for sure.
But just like last season, that's what is making the rest of the experience so frustrating.
While six losses by three points or less in the first half of the season helped steadily demoralize the Utes last season and counterbalance the impressive wins over Washington State and Virginia, so too have the current Utes suffered under the weight of a half-dozen close losses -- four in league play alone by six points or less, and two others in overtime -- to counterbalance their few modest achievements.
In fact, the Utes are at risk of finishing with the same conference record as last season, which would be incredibly damning in the final equation -- considering non-conference schedules mean little because they can vary so wildly (for all the talk about tough road games, the Utes' schedule strength ranks only 75th so far this season, according to realtimerpi.com, compared to 18th last season) and that teams are supposed to improve with good coaching, not regress.
And you can make a pretty good argument that the Utes are backsliding as the season chugs toward a conclusion, even without the depressing inevitability of a firing helping drag down the whole operation.
Of course, fatigue might have something to do with it.
The Utes have been shorthanded all season on account of the departures of Stephen Weigh, Daniel Deane and Curtis Eatmon, leaving them with an eight-man rotation comprised of many players who didn't seem to be in the most outstanding condition in the first place.
But still, the Utes still have achieved little this season that they did not manage last year -- the win at Air Force and home victory over UNLV being the two obvious exceptions. Yet the Utes made up for those by losing at home to Wyoming (for the first time since 2002) and New Mexico (for the first time since 1989), and still face the prospect of being swept by the Cowboys (they could sweep the Rebels) and managing the same split with lowly Colorado State as they did last year.
So what's the answer?
Seems like it might be a long way down the road, and include a lot of guys not named Luke Nevill, Shaun Green or Johnnie Bryant.
The Utes were supposed to be much improved after working for months improving their toughness and "grit" under coach Jim Boylen and getting so much playing experience as freshmen and sophomores, yet have shown painfully little capacity for success during the league games that truly count. And while Boylen will start importing some of his own hand-picked talent next season, all of his incoming recruits will be freshmen, meaning that it might be hard to count any on them to lead the renaissance of the program quite yet.
In other words, it's definitely a process, as Boylen likes to say, and probably a long one, at that.
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 9:07 AM |
2 Comments:
Mike,
As much as it pains me to admit it, I think I have to agree with you. This team looks more and more like last year's team the further we go along. These guys have no moxy, no marbles, no guts. They suck. They lost to freaking T-C-U, the school with no fans and no basketball tradition. Unbelievable, but really, it's not. It's the kind of infuriating inconsistency that has driven supporters away from the program and reduced the fan base to 9,000 diehards. There is no student section at home games, and the athletic department couldn't even get a sellout for the 100-year anniversary game. It's embarassing. I'm saying this as a loyal Utah fan, because something has got to change. I don't want to put it on Boylen, because I think he's the right guy for the job, but I can't take being 6-7 in the Mountain West anymore.
It's okay for
majerussweater to be critical of the program, but don't dare rip on Boylen, then your told you can't be a fan. Guess what.....I will always be a fan, and when Boylen fails again next year, maybe then we can finally get something going. GO UTES!
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